Samuel Butler

For brevity is very good,
Where we are, or are not understood.

For brevity is very good,
Where we are, or are not understood.

I've heard old cunning stagers
Say, fools for arguments use wagers.

I've heard old cunning stagers
Say, fools for arguments use wagers.

'Tis not amiss, ere ye're giv'n o'er,
To try one desp'rate med'cine more;
For where your case read more

'Tis not amiss, ere ye're giv'n o'er,
To try one desp'rate med'cine more;
For where your case can be no worse,
The desp'rat'st is the wisest course.

He ne'er consider'd it as loth
To look a gift-horse in the mouth,
And very wisely would read more

He ne'er consider'd it as loth
To look a gift-horse in the mouth,
And very wisely would lay forth
No more upon it than 'twas worth;
But as he got it freely, so
He spent it frank and freely too:
For saints themselves will sometimes be,
Of gifts that cost them nothing, free.

His fear was greater than his haste:
For fear, though fleeter than the wind,
Believes 'tis always read more

His fear was greater than his haste:
For fear, though fleeter than the wind,
Believes 'tis always left behind.